Could a WGA Strike be a "Death Knell" for Soaps?

[slick jones]

Strike writers could only improve GH.  The bar for improvement hasn't been reached in forever (One crappy Jerrome story after another, Nina, Silas Finn, Kiki, the whole constipated Morgan story, rehash Sonny/Carly/Jason/Sam  stories, our HERO Franko,  Lulu baby rabies, serial killer Hornsby...all fails.))   Get back to basics, utilize the actors/characters the audience want to see. Pissmelly continue to disappoint daily!

[Khan]

 

In retrospect, that could have been a move in the right direction.

[Vee]

Nah.

[titan1978]

I thought the original text message killer was supposed to be Logan.  And then, when Guza came back, they killed him off anyway because he didn't want the character there anyway.

 

Why they killed Georgie, Cooper, and Logan I will never know.  The show finally had a viable stable of young characters.  Add Dillon, Lulu, Maxie and Spinelli and you had the potential future of the show.  And none of them were blood related to Sonny.  Which may have been the problem for Guza.

[Vee]

I liked Logan a lot, but I know the actor was allegedly a headache. It was stupid to dump him and Georgie, along with squandering the popular young leads they did like by tying them closer and closer to Sonny, Jason, Carly and Luke - which in Guza's foolish eyes, gave them 'legitimacy.'

 

 

IIRC Ron intended during the storyline to make it clear then that Jessica was Clint and Viki's, something fans had wanted for years, and yes, he got back to it in the finale. He also was supposedly going to reveal that Miles Laurence was somehow Blair's brother - there had been a link from Miles to Addie hinted at just before the strike - and I think had also intended to reveal that either Mitch or Roxy (yes, Roxy) was Rex's father - as in, Roxy was post-op and Alison was his mother. Yes, that was apparently an idea.

 

Supposedly ABC vetoed the Roxy idea in its crib, but Ron ultimately played that idea out at the end of the show*, when the characters watched the finale of Fraternity Row, and the character Roxy/Ilene Kristen had embodied on the recent FR fantasy episode - "Lorraine" - was revealed to have been born a man.

 

(*Another thing he snuck in near the end: Shane Morasco goes off to the "Phil Jimenez School of Art and Design". Phil Jimenez is a prominent and openly gay cartoonist and comic artist; Shane had been intended to come out as gay during the 2011 bullying story, but the network vetoed it.)

[dragonflies]

I honestly think nothing at this point is going to help GH. As long as the show wants to focus on the sucktitude that is CarSon and JaSam then the show is doomed

[Chris B]

 

I don't recall exactly, but I know the Taylor/Nick/Brooke custody battle over Jack was happening and all the stories were horrible, but Alden featured the cast more evenly and made the story watchable. The show was in such a dead spot for so long so fans were happy to have a bit of a change for a while and a different voice. I also disagree that her glory years are overrated. There were ups and downs for her and Jack Smith, but 1998-2002 I found very strong years for the show. It wasn't boring, it had a variety of characters featured, new characters were good, you had watchable teens and action. I loved it. Personally I find 2004 to be the last great year and 2005 the last watchable year, but the beginning of the end. 

[Aback]

 

Don't get me wrong, her tenure was amazing (2000-2001 was the year that hooked me in), I'm just implying it was not 100% her doing and that WJB had still major influence over the show for the first few years after he left.

 

Thank you for the info on B&B. I was not watching back then. It must be exhausting for the actors to constantly play Brad's version of the show. I wonder if sometimes even they wish they had some major behind-the-scene shake-up like every other soap does.

 

PS I love your banner. The last Y&R ensemble I truly enjoyed...

[Chris B]

I don't think it was just Alden, but I think she was vital. People give Bill Bell so much credit and he deserves it, but she was there side-by-side almost from the beginning. Her work on B&B proved just how well she knows and understands what makes a Bell show work. I don't just credit her, but the team. Jack Smith, Trent Jones, the fabulous script writers, editors, etc. they just understood Y&R. Not everything worked, it never has for any show, but when Bill left you didn't feel like the show was lost. It was still Y&R and very solid. I also think there was a very noticeable shift between 1997 and 1998 when she took over which is why I think she deserves more credit that she deserves. Y&R evolved a lot as soon as she took over and in a positive way. The show was very stale in 97 when Bill was on his way out.

[Soapsuds]

Let there be a strike!

[Toups]

 

Brad Bell was still EP though.  He may have not written the outlines or be in the writers room or conference calls, but he was still steering the ship.  It's not like Kay did things without Brad's approval. 

[JONNYSBRO]

 

Kind of dissapointed that Kay Alden went fi core isnt that a complete disrepect to your fellow writers on the WGA. Jean is on the board at WGA and she is very staunch about WGA rights. Its important the actors get paid so much why not the writers. 

[DeeeDee]

2004 Y&R was horrible & 2005 was even worse.

 

Y&R's last classic year was 2003 (the second half of which was incredibly dark & portended nearly everything that has happened on the show over the last 15 years)

[John]

I believe the strike if it happens is over health benefits

 

Peiople go ficore so that they can keep their lights on & food on the table

Ficore writers still get health benefits et all but cannot vote anymore

[JONNYSBRO]

 

Isnt a slap to the WGA writers who are protesting and out of a job? I think fi core writers look selfish to me. They have no respect for their collegues and other workers.